Lectionary Calendar
Saturday, December 21st, 2024
the Third Week of Advent
the Third Week of Advent
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Bible Commentaries
Concordant Commentary of the New Testament Concordant NT Commentary
Copyright Statement
Concordant Commentary of the New Testament reproduced by permission of Concordant Publishing Concern, Almont, Michigan, USA. All other rights reserved.
Concordant Commentary of the New Testament reproduced by permission of Concordant Publishing Concern, Almont, Michigan, USA. All other rights reserved.
Bibliographical Information
"Commentary on 1 Corinthians 4". Concordant Commentary of the New Testament. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/aek/1-corinthians-4.html. 1968.
"Commentary on 1 Corinthians 4". Concordant Commentary of the New Testament. https://www.studylight.org/
Whole Bible (53)New Testament (19)Gospels Only (1)Individual Books (16)
Verses 1-7
5 Apollos was a Jew of Alexandria, a scholarly man, and able in the Scriptures. He came to Ephesus, full of zeal, but versed only in the baptism of John. Priscilla and Aquila heard him speak boldly in the synagogue, so they took him to themselves and expounded the way of God more accurately to him. On his way back he passed through Achaia and doubtless spent much time in Corinth. While there he parleyed much with the believers and strenuously and thoroughly confuted the Jews, publicly exhibiting, through the Scriptures, that Jesus is the Christ ( Act_18:24-28 ).
8 There is little doubt but that Apollos taught precisely as Paul did. They were one. Indeed, Apollos received much of his teaching indirectly from Paul, through Priscilla and Aquila.
9 Paul seeks to draw their hearts from occupation with men, by comparing them with a farm on which he was merely a laborer, or a building on which he was only a craftsman. He did the first work. He planted. Apollos gave the crop water. But they could not make a single seed grow. Growth is due to God alone.
10 Paul had laid the foundation in Corinth. Apollos and others were building on it. The gold and silver, precious stones, wood, grass, straw, represent the character of the doctrines with which these teachers seek to edify the ecclesia. It is not a question of quantity but quality.
Wood, hay and grass would easily make an imposing pile, but they will not stand the fire in the day when each one's work will be tested. They doubtless represent the human philosophies and base additions to the truth which today almost cover up the great verities of divine revelation. Gold stands for that which is divine, silver for redemption, precious stones for those gems of grace which adorn them, especially the secrets at which Paul has been hinting.
14 Let all who teach take this to heart: their work will be tested to see what kind it is . It is better to have a little after the fire than much before it.
15 The question here is not salvation , but service . It is not concerned with the conduct of the believer but with the doctrine of those who teach.
18 The wisdom of the world is a far greater menace today than in the days of the apostle. The nominal church has no hesitancy in following, not only the wisdom of the world, but its folly as well. On every hand we are assured that the church must get on a business basis and use modern methods. The aim of the preacher is popularity, the confidence of the multitude is in men. Proclaim a great truth, freshly found in the word, and who will listen? Set up a great leader and men will flock to hear his eloquence. God is forgotten in the church more grievously than in the world.
22 The cure for a partisan spirit is the recognition that the men who are given by God to edify His saints are all ours. We should not single out a single one, but include them all. We should not say "I am of Paul", so as to exclude Apollos or Cephas, but realize that they are all ours, and a gift from God, not to quarrel about, but to appreciate and enjoy. The heritage of Huss and Luther and Darby has descended to us, though we may not belong to their party.
1 Doubtless those who were not of the Pauline party were inclined to be captious and question his motives or his methods. But Paul will not allow this. He did not receive his commission from them and refuses to acknowledge their right to examine him. What if they did? Their standards were not God's, and their surface knowledge was no basis for any decision. This is man's day. The current of the world's affairs is contrary to God and any arraignment of God's servants now will need very much revision indeed when freed from the prejudice and baneful influence of the day of man.
4 The possession of a good conscience is no justification. Paul knew that he had a good conscience even when he was a bitter opponent of Christ.
5 When the time for examining the service of God's stewards comes it will he based on truth. Not only the outward act but the inward motive will be brought to light. Many who seem to accomplish little, purposed greatly in their hearts, and will be rewarded according to their intention, rather than their failure to fulfill.
Verses 8-21
8 The sharp contrast between the carnal Corinthians and the faithful apostle loses none of its force if we compare him with the church of today. We need not go outside of Protestantism to find churches sated, rich, and avowedly endeavoring to influence the world by political means. Every charge against the Corinthians in this passage is tenfold more applicable today. Those organizations which are not strong and glorious make every effort to become so. We have drifted far from our true place in the world. The world that hated our Lord and put Him to the accursed death, that hounded His apostle until he, too, was ready to be offered up, has not changed. It still persecutes those who want to live godly.
11 What a contrast between Paul and the dignitaries of the church today! Though loaded with the care of all the churches among the nations, he lacks every sign of such an exalted position. In actual want at times, and toiling for his subsistence at others, without sufficient clothing for comfort, undergoing all sorts of indignities, with no settled habitation, the apostle presents an abject, almost pitiable picture. Nothing could be worse than his own summary: "We became as the off-scourings of the world, the scum of the universe."
15 It was a custom among the higher classes to employ a slave in escorting the boys to and from school, and some families had learned Greek slaves for tutors. It would seem that the apostle is using this term to characterize those who had followed him in leading the
Corinthians. They could not take the place of the one who had first brought them to the knowledge of Christ.
16 We need not stumble at Paul's putting himself forward for imitation, rather than the example of Christ. Since the Lord's ascension and the call of Paul there has been a radical change in the character of God's dealings with the nations. Paul's pattern call, and his later conduct, is the example for us to follow in this day of grace. The Circumcision follow in our Lord's steps. If we followed the example given by our Lord to His disciples we would proclaim the gospel to none but Jews ( Act_11:19 ).
21 It was some time before Paul came to Corinth. This epistle was probably written at Ephesus, whence Paul went to Macedonia. While there he wrote the second epistle to them Corinthians in which he lays aside the rod and manifests that spirit of love and meekness which he longed to show toward them.
1 Even when we remember the extreme laxity of morals which prevailed in many of the large and luxurious cities of the Roman empire at that time, the corrupting influence of the heathen deities which they had so recently served, and the eagerness with which they sought to right this wrong, we can hardly see how such a state of affairs could exist in Corinth, and, at first sight, it seems even more difficult to see why it should have been incorporated in Holy Writ, to be the butt of infidels and the sport of the ungodly. Yet such is all of God's word. It is a light which does not shun to expose all the shame and dishonor of the very ones who are declared to possess the righteousness of God. And it is full of comfort for those who fall, for if His grace was sufficient in such a case, it will suffice for all.
5 It will be noticed that the punishment, of being given up to Satan, was with a view to salvation. Thus are all of God's judicial acts. They are not vindictive, without any consideration for the welfare of those involved, but are of such a nature as to correct the evil.
9 The apostle had already written on this subject to the Corinthians. The state of society may well be imagined when he tells them that, should they refuse to have dealings with all such immoral persons, they would need to leave the world entirely. Now he makes it clear,
however, that immorality will not be tolerated among those in the ecclesia. All such should be excluded. They are subject to the judgment of their brethren. Immorality outside the ecclesia is not a matter for the saints. God is judging those who are outsiders.
13 There is a striking contrast between the methods of dealing with moral evil and doctrinal heresy. There were those in Corinth who held fundamental error, for they denied the resurrection. The apostle reasons with them and shows them the consequences if their heresy were true, but he never suggests their excision. But when the behaviour of a brother became such that he brought reproach upon the holy brotherhood of believers, he was summarily expelled. This was the surest way of bringing him to repentance.
By sending him back into the world, he realized the gravity of his misconduct.